Spirit Doll Transformations

"The doll is symbolic homunculi, little life. It is the symbol of what lies buried in humans that is numinous. It is a small and glowing facsimile of the original Self. Superficially, it is just a doll. But inversely, it represents a little piece of soul that carries all the knowledge of the larger soul-Self.In the doll is the voice, in diminutive, of old La Que Sabe, The One Who Knows..In this way the doll represents the inner spirit of us as women; the voice of inner reason, inner knowing and inner consciousness." Dr. Clarissa Pinkola, Women Who Run With Wolves

She has yet to be named but I'm bursting at the seams to share my first doll of 2015! I love the rich colors, compassionate stance and her wing-like gauze! She'll be up on Etsy soon--I hope...Addendum 1/21/15: She's ready for her new home available on Etsy and aptly named!

And I'm proud to present my first attempt at a wearable brooch, Bugaboo! A bit of sunshine for these dark winter days...I had so much fun making him.

Linda Clink from Linsart on Etsy.com features a lovely quote on her blog Linsart Creations in Clay: "A person who works with his hands is a laborer. A person who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman. A person who works with his hands, his brain and his heart is an artist" —Louis Nizer Linda, artist and owner of Linsart, has been working with clay for over 9 years. She is a favorite of many artisans who use her clay faces & creations to make cuffs, pendants, necklaces, and more, as well as, Spirit Dolls, like me. She's sold approximately 2900 faces on Etsy, a testament to her passion and success as an artist and business owner. The breadth and variety of her faces and sculptures is astounding. Her faces feature almost every persuasion, expression, color and genre. She also sculpts animals, like cats, owls, fish & horses. She makes Buddhas, goddesses, and dreamcatchers. All of her creations are rife with details and imagination. I love working with her faces to create a Spirit Doll because usually I connect right away this new little spirit. They have such personality and style all on their own. I just discovered that she recently featured an example of my work, Willow of Immortality and Protection, in one of her blogs, The Many Faces of Linsart. She also has examples from a couple of other artists if you'd like to see how they employ her polymer face creations in their work. She also has a second blog, "Linsart Creations in Clay" which features other artists on Etsy and more of her lovely faces. I look forward to using many more of Linda's faces on future Spirit Dolls!

I was delighted to find my work recently featured in the 'Guest Gallery' of Chris Flynn's new E-Book, "How to Create Your Own Spirit Dolls." She illustrates each step of making a spirit doll, including meditations, intentions and exact brand names of the tools that have worked best for her. As a fellow artist, this kind of information is invaluable because usually an artist works alone using tools and materials they know. By introducing new materials and techniques I can push my work even further and be more creative! Using a face that someone else has lovingly created brings an added dimension to a doll because I'm truly meeting this spirit for the first time. When I'm searching for inspiration for a doll, the hunt is fun, there are many talented artists on Etsy but I have no problem choosing a face that resonates with me. They literally jump off the page and end up in my shopping cart seconds later. It can be a challenge, sometimes, to make a doll with someone else's face but it's stimulating to have a wide selection to get those creative juices flowing. Right now, I have a good stash of Chris's faces and cabs/shields to choose from (not that I will stop collecting them!) I've already used many of Chris's wonderful faces and cabs for my dolls and her experience and history with the dolls and making faces shines through her work. She's also very generous with her time and expertise answering questions quickly and thoroughly and she always packs a little extra in with your order. Many times I've used the ribbon or lovely material she uses to package my order with right away when I receive it incorporating it into the doll I'm making. It's always seems to be a bit of synchronicity at work in the universe!If you don't want to make a spirit doll but love one-of-a-kind jewelry, her cabs and faces can be made into necklaces or talismans. You can find Chris at her store myirishgypsy on Etsy.com and if you're at all interested in crafting a Spirit Doll yourself her ebook is invaluable, as well as her blog, Spirit Dolls by Chris!